Behind Dark Eyes
by whyzkyd
Summary: Ranger takes a trip down memory lane. Spoiler warning: A POV of sorts where each chapter represents a different book.


_**The first time I heard about Stephanie... **_

Connie had called me from Vincent Plum Bail Bonds asking me to do a favor. Stephanie had come in to take a filing job and Connie had talked her into skip tracing instead. Connie knew that I had trained Jean Ellen for another bail bondsman and wondered if I would be willing to create a new female prodigy.

My first inclination was to say 'no', but I liked Connie, so I wanted to at least hear what she had to say. I'm not a sexist. I was raised by strong women and know that women can be very capable and are often under-rated. Physically though, a woman is not cut out for this business. Ninety – nine percent of those that try, end up quitting right away. Time was valuable to me. I would hate to waste my time on a dead end project.

"Please, Ranger. Morty Beyers has been out and we are getting backed up."

"Why this girl?"

"I like her. She's one of my little sister's friends."

"And?"

"I know what you're thinking, but she is NOT your average girl. She won't mind if her fingernails get dirty."

"Anything else?" I asked, not yet convinced.

"She's Vinnie's cousin, so she can help me keep him in line."

"Vinnie's cousin? Just between you and me, I don't know if I want to work with any more people from that gene pool."

"She is _nothing_ like Vinnie. Better yet, they don't seem to get along all that well."

"Then why'd he hire her?"

"She blackmailed him into it."

I couldn't stop myself. I laughed out loud. "I like her already."

"There's more," Connie added. "Her first FTA is Joe Morelli."

Oh Shit! "I'll get back to you."

As soon as I hung up the phone, I typed in an order for a background check on Stephanie Plum.

A few hours later, I sat across from Stephanie in a downtown café. I had already seen several file photos on her, but the photographs did not do her justice. She had charisma and sex appeal that can't be caught in a still photo. Her brilliant blue eyes and thick curly hair make her stand out in a room.

My first impression was that there was no hope of turning her into a bounty hunter. She was nothing like Jean Ellen. Jean Ellen was easy. She was tough as nails inside and all hard edges outside. But this girl was much too soft, too feminine. And yet, there was a daring quality about her. So against my better judgement, I got her set up with the tools of the trade and gave her a few lessons. I told her that I would play Henry Higgins to her Eliza Doolittle.

_**Then I found out that she had stolen Morelli's car. **_

Stephanie had been driving around in a piece of crap Nova that someone had painted obscenities all over. I liked the fact that she wasn't too proud to be seen in something so hideous. What I liked even more was the ingenious way that she commandeered Morelli's Jeep Cherokee and cell phone. The girl had guts.

She woke me up at two a.m. one morning to ask for help. Morelli had handcuffed her to her shower curtain because she wouldn't tell him where his vehicle's distributor cap was. I wasn't happy about the late night disturbance, but when she told me that she was naked, I quickly changed my mind.

She didn't disappoint. Okay, her hair had frizzed up, but she was still cute even without make-up. Her body was perfect just as I knew it would be. She wasn't even embarrassed by her nakedness. All she was worried about was making sure Morelli couldn't get his car back from her. I knew from glancing through her file that the two of them had a history. It was rumoured that Morelli had been set up on murder charges. He was trying to evade arrest while desperately trying to prove his innocence. I knew Morelli to be a good guy, but he had quite a reputation for playing the field with the ladies. Evidently, Stephanie did not like being played. Good for her, I thought.

_**She had integrity. **_

Up until Lonnie Dodd, Stephanie had just been an amusing distraction. I had not taken her seriously. Lonnie was an FTA who was arrested for auto-theft. Steph had cornered him in his house and needed help with the apprehension. When I went in to flush him out, he shot me in the leg. Stephanie actually body-slammed him to the ground as he tried to get away. I couldn't believe that this 125 pound little girl had body - slammed an armed FTA. It was what happened next, though, that really made me take notice.

I'd been shocked when Connie called me. "Hey Ranger, How's the leg?"

"Just a flesh wound. I'll be fine."

"I've got a check here for you if you want to send one of the guys over to pick it up."

"What check is that?"

"Lonnie Dodd."

"Not mine. He's Stephanie's skip."

"Yes, she turned in the receipt, but she would only take $50 of the fee. She said that you _deserved_ the rest."

I was truly caught off guard, which doesn't happen often. Stephanie surprised me. It was obvious that she needed money, and yet she left the bulk of the fee for me. I put in an order for a more thorough background check on her and spent the rest of the day reading the new material.

_**She was tenacious.**_

A mentally deranged boxer named Benito Ramirez had been stalking her. Not long after Dodd, I heard that Ramirez had attacked a prostitute that Stephanie had befriended. He left Lula battered and bloody on Stephanie's fire escape in an attempt to intimidate her. My sources assured me that Morelli was protecting Stephanie. They obviously had something going. I decided not to interfere.

I tried busying myself with other things, but frequently my mind kept wandering back to Steph. The next thing I know, she and Morelli had stumbled upon a drug connection and several murders involving Ramirez and his agent Jimmy Alpha. My right hand man in Trenton, Tank, had brought me up to speed. "Eliza Doolittle caught Morelli. She dropped him off at the police station a little while ago. She also brought evidence that will help him beat the murder charges."

"He's after her body. He probably _let _her catch him, so she could get her fee before his charges were dropped. Then she would _owe_ him."

"Not what I heard. She delivered him locked in a refrigerated truck along with three dead bodies and drug residue. He went psycho when they opened the door. Took several cops to drag him off of her."

"What?" I laughed out loud. "Bet that brought his ego down a notch or two. She may turn out to be a lot of fun."

"How so?" Tank asked me with eyebrows raised.

"This is a rough business. We could all use a good laugh now and then. What do we know about the dead bodies and drug residue?"

_**She was resilient.**_

Jimmy Alpha read the writing on the wall. With evidence mounting against him, he decided to frame Benito Ramirez for everything by staging Stephanie's murder. Stephanie blocked his plans with five well-placed rounds from her revolver, but not before he managed to wound her with a bullet of his own. I figured that would be it. Most _men_ would give up after just being shot. She had to deal with both the threat on her life and the fact that she killed another human being. I fully expected her to cave. I sent a guy out to check on her.

My cell phone rang, "Yo."

"She's fine. They tried to keep her in the hospital but she refused. Said she could take care of herself."

"And."

"Cops say she's a trooper. Not phased at all by anything that's happened. They can't stop talking about her. Good-looking, tough, and smart they keep saying. Especially Morelli. He won't leave her alone. I just drove by her apartment and saw his vehicle in the lot."

"Figures."

_**That's when I knew that I had underestimated Stephanie Plum. This was one woman who wasn't going to quit when the going got tough. Most people are simple and easy to read...boring at most. Not Stephanie. She was unique and VERY interesting. Sure, I couldn't stop thinking about her, but that's because I enjoyed a challenge. Right?**_

_**I couldn't wait to work with her again.**_


End file.
